Arizona’s cannabis sales for the recreational market began last week after state representatives approved retail venture licenses.
The release comes weeks after the state’s voters accented the cannabis decriminalization measure overwhelmingly during last year’s election.
This is the quickest transition from citizen-approval to sales enactment than any other territory that has decriminalized marijuana.
According to the initiative, regulators had to quickly formulate regulations for the market. Industry participants assert that they’ve engaged in fruitful conversations with the Health Services Agency to set up those rules during the recent weeks.
The agency launched two draft options of its recommended regulations and they started approving applications for adult-use business permits earlier this year. The first batch of approvals is for current medical marijuana dispensaries that have already passed Arizona’s licensing procedure.
On Friday, the department stated that it had received seventy-nine applications since early Wednesday when the application period commenced. Six of the applications are still under review, thus seventy-three facilities can start recreational marijuana sales.
Individuals who’re not running medical cannabis ventures currently can also apply for a recreational license during the first round. People who fail to qualify during this phase will soon reapply and they’ll be approved starting in spring.
Richard Samuel, ADA’s (Arizona Dispensaries Association) executive director, said that the regulators’ dedicated professionalism and focus have been demonstrated incredibly.
He added that it’s amazing to see that the state’s regulators responded to the voter’s strong support by quickly getting a framework in place to allow voters to begin enjoying the merits of recreational marijuana.
Legislation activists have appreciated the state’s expediency in setting up an adult-use cannabis market.
The regulations for the recreational cannabis market were implemented on 15th January officially. They comprise licensing charges, approvals’ timeline, the regulatory body’s structure, public safety procedures and product labelling.
